Parents in the Dulles Youth Sports program only need one type. They do not need to purchase both types.

In summary, buy a singlet if you are unsure about which uniform to wear. You won’t go wrong.

However, if your child is new to the sport, shy about wearing tight clothes, or simply like the comfort of wearing the two-piece uniform then you have the option to wear fight gear which is comprised of a compression shirt and the loose MMA style shorts. In some cases, kids will buy the tight compression shorts instead of the loose shorts.

The singlet has been considered to be the traditional uniform and will be around for a very long time. Moreover, the singlet is the only uniform used by college wrestlers, olympic level athletes, and the international community.

The singlet is predominantly used by advanced wrestlers in elementary, middle, and high school competitions, and is most frequently seen in open individual style events across the nation.

Historically, one-piece sleeveless singlets have been the traditional uniform used in high school and youth wrestling. The argument is very much like the swimming community in that swimmers wear speedos and wrestlers wear tight singlets. Speedos enable greater speeds and tight singlets reduce potential injuries from fingers caught in loose material.

With the advent of more girls in wrestling, high schools allowed single color t-shirts to be worn under the singlets. Then in 2017, high schools allowed fight shorts cut above the knee to be worn by kids that were otherwise too shy to wear the traditional tight singlet. The change was largely designed to encourage kids to participate in the sport. There are many articles online but here are some for the convenience of the reader.